Reevesia formosana Sprague is an endemic deciduous tree grows in southern Taiwan. There are about 25 species of Reevesia worldwide, with two species in central America, fourteen in mainland China, and one in Taiwan. The remainder are found mostly in Southeast Asia. In 2003, there were five known compounds which are β-sitosterol, daucosterol, betulinic acid, lupeol, (+)-catechin isolated from R. longipetiolata. 
Nowadays, in research of natural, a separating strategy is usually put emphasis on active components. A collected natural is extracted by alcohol or aqueous alcohol, and the extractives are separated into fractions by different ionizing solvent partitions. Then, the each fraction is examined by every kind of biological activity test, and the fraction with active components is further examined by separating and extracting techniques to acquire physiological activities. Such examining model combined chemical components analyses and activity analyses is called bioassay-guided fractionation.